WE WANT A BETTER YEAR FOR YOU.

Dear Penn Freshmen,

Welcome, welcome! We're so glad you're here.

“Dear Penn Freshmen” is a collection of letters written by Penn upperclassmen addressing their freshman year selves about things they wish they knew in their first year. This project is the brainchild of Adam Grant’s 2016 Organizational Behavior class and now returns in 2018 with a wave of fresh letters written by current students.

These notes are filled with advice, anecdotes, and random thoughts in hopes that our experiences will make readers’ first year at Penn just a tad bit easier. Freshmen, rest assured - feeling lonely, dropping pre-med, or not ‘going Greek’ doesn’t mean the world is ending. Along the way, we hope our words will inspire a renewed environment built on curiosity, kindness, and humility and prioritize laughter, health, and the little things.

Upperclassmen - if you’re looking to pay it forward with some wonderful advice let us know, and we’ll get you on board!

Freshmen - read on, and let us know what you think. Freshmen year can be tough. Trust us, we’ve been there, which inspires us to share our stories, struggles, and joys. We realize we're not much wiser or smarter than you, simply older and with a few semesters here under our belt. We want to help. Please let us know how we can.

A sincere gratitude for Lauren McCann (W'16), founder of Dear Penn Freshmen, for launching this movement in 2016 and supporting its comeback in 2018, to Adam Grant for his endless generosity, to our wise upperclassmen behind these letters, and to freshmen, whose kind hearts and keen foresight will guide them along this journey ahead. Just keep swimming!.